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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn 1979, musician Chuck Surack started a business in Fort Wayne called Sweetwater Sound by creating a mobile recording studio in a Volkswagen Bus. Fast-forward a bit more than four decades, and Sweetwater has evolved into one of the nation’s most prominent e-commerce sites for musical instruments and audio gear with $1.6 billion in sales for 2022. Surack and his wife, Lisa, had total ownership of the company until 2021 when they sold a big stake to a private equity firm.
The Suracks have used that money to help further their already extensive philanthropic giving.
Chuck also has more time to focus on Surack Enterprises, a collection of companies unrelated to Sweetwater, including several that stem from his interest in aviation. And that’s the reason why Chuck has been in the news in Indianapolis in recent weeks. The Indianapolis Airport Authority wants to decommission the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport, a move that’s supported by the city of Indianapolis due to the site’s attractiveness for redevelopment.
Chuck is helping lead the charge to persuade the Federal Aviation Administration to deny permission to decommission the heliport. Chuck has a helicopter charter company that uses the heliport, but he also joins aviation experts and the Indiana Department of Transportation in arguing that the heliport is uniquely positioned to advantage of new developments in urban aviation. That includes electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically.
In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Surack sheds more light on his decision to sell a controlling stake in Sweetwater and step away from day-to-day operations. And he explains the reasoning behind his desire to keep the heliport open.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify and anyplace you find podcasts.
You can also listen to these recent episodes:
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Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.
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Chuck: I totally agree with maintaining the Heliport. This at the time was a boon for Indianapolis to provide a hub of mid town transportation for attracting new business and governance of existing business by Boards of Directors to visit Indianapolis operations, Visit Indy by new companies looking to locate here and also emergency trauma services for IU. Methodist Hospital as well at that time of both traffic and event reporting by the Indianapolis Media. this was a very difficult development to accomplish by then 2 Indianapolis Businessmen (previously Helicopter Pilots of fame) as the developers and The Indianapolis Economica Development Department. I was the consultant with the IEDC Department. Only when we approached the Indianapolis Airport Authority to provide Mechanical and Fuel Operations did the deal fly. When we did that arrangement, it qualified as an IEDC Bond Issuance which was a guarantee of the IAPA and we sold the bonds to Cincinnati Insurance Company. I would assume that those bonds are still in place or may have been refinanced over time since origination, ‘but the facility with proper upgrades would still be a very viable entity for Indianapolis. A study for the pursuit of new and additional uses for Central City Air transportation as well as and our downtown access for new and ongoing and expanded businesses in Indianapolis and Indiana is a must to assist in the increased growth of our downtown. Please don’t let this unique asset for our city be cast aside. Thank you